Concentrator.



H. L. SHERWOOD.

CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATIONIILED JULY 26. I915.

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H. L. SHERWOOD.

CONCENTRATOR.-

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26.1915.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917 5 SHEETSSHEET 2 IN VEN TOR, EL. Sherwood,

A TTORNE Y H. L. SHERWOOD.

CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION HLED JULY 26, 1915.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR, JJLL. Sherwood;

A TTORNE Y m: Nonm's PETERS 60.,PHO7I1-LIYNQ. WASHINGTON. n c.

H. L. SHERWOOD.

CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY MI 1915- 71 1 1: H B r1 as M E t5 n .w a D 'INVENTOR, L. Sherwood,

ATTORNEY H. L. SHERWOOD.

CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, Hilfi- Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

mw wm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARLEY L. SHERWOOD, or OREGON CITY, OREGON.

CONCENTRATOR.

Application filed July 26, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARLEY L. SHERwooD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oregon City, in the county of Clackamas and State of Oregon, have invented new and useful Improvements in Concentrators, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in concentrators for recovering gold and other precious metals and heavy sands containing the same, the object of the invention being to provide an apparatus of this character which shall be of great efliciency.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of my improved concentrator; Fig. 1 is a side view of a detail thereof; Fig. 2 is a rear end view thereof, a tank and conveyer being removed; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of an upper shaking frame; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof; Fig. 5 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 6 is a broken side view of a lower shaking frame; Fig. 7 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of cam roller and frame therefor; Fig. 9 is an enlarged broken side view of the tank and conveyer; Fig. 10 is a transverse section of a conveyer; Fig. 11 is a side view of a modification of the invention; Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section of a modified form of concentrating box'; Fig. 13 is a plan view of the same; and Figs. 14, 15 and 16 are cross sectional views respectively of the concentrating box, of the upper or inner box and of the lower or outer box.

Referring to the drawing, upon suitable sills 1 are secured transverse beams 2, upon which are erected posts 3 which are secured to longitudinal beams 4, and transverse beams 5 and 6, the longitudinal beams 4 and sills 1 being connected by oblique braces 7 Upon the longitudinal beams 4 are secured bearings 8 for a transverse shaft 9 which carries a pulley 11, by means of which said shaft can be rotated by a belt 12 from any suitable source of power. Upon the other end of said shaft is a pulley 13 around which-passes a belt 14, passing alsoaround a pulley 15 upon a transverse shaft 16 mounted in bearings on said longitudinal beams 4, and upon the other end of said shaft 16 is a pulley 18, around which passes a belt 19 which passes also around a pulley 21 upon a transverse shaft 22,

mounted in bearings 23 secured to posts 3 of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 1.3, 1917.

Serial N 0. 41,909.

the frame. Upon the shaft 16 are secured wiper cams 24 which engage rollers 27 on shafts 28 mounted in bearings 29 secured to the under sides of upwardly sloping arms 31, secured at their upper ends to hangers 32, comprising bolts 33 passing through the transverse beam 5 and having thereon wing nuts 36 by which the height of the upper ends of the arms can be adjusted. The lower ends of said arms 31 are secured to straps 37 having eyes 38 through which pass shafts 39, which shafts also extend through bearings 40 in upper blocks 41 secured to the upper ends of box-like screen frames 42. Each shaft also passes through an eye 43 of a strap 44 secured to one end of a helical spring 45 the other end of which ,is secured to one end of a chain 46, the other end of which is secured to the upper end of an eye bolt 47, the lower end of which passes through a transverse block 48 on the frame and is screwed into a nut 49 abutting against said block. Said screen frames are suspended from the frame of the machine by means of links 51, the lower ends of which are secured to bolts 52, passing transversely through said screen frames, said links being supported by hooks 53 threaded at the upper. end and passing through blocks 54 supported upon said main frame and also through Wing nuts 55 supported upon said blocks. By means of said wing nuts the screen frames can be adjusted in height and slope.

Qre is fed to said screen frames over chutes 56, to the upper ends of which are secured blocks 57, having on their under sides recesses 58' in which are received round bars 59, the ends of which are secured to side bars 61' suspended from hooks 62, the upper ends of which pass through a transverse bar upon posts 3 and also through wing nuts 63. The lower ends of said chutes are secured to the sloping arms 31 which are secured upon the upper ends of the screen frames 42. I

In each screen frame are secured two screens 64, 66, of different meshes, the upper screen permitting coarse material to pass therethro-ugh and the lower screen permitting only" fine material to pass therethrough. The screen frame above said screens is open at the lower end, but below the lower screen it is closed at the lower end, as shown at 67, and has a bottom 68, which slopes from each side downwardly to the middle, an oblong aperture being provided in the lower end of said bottom. Said screen frame is given a longitudinal shaking movement by the wiper cams, and the lower end of said screen frame is adapted to abut, in said shaking movement, against a transverse bumper 69 secured to the oblique braces.

Supported upon each upper screen frame by cars 70 depending therefrom is the upper end of a chute 71, the lower end of said chute being also supported upon said screen frame by means of rods 72. Said chute discharges into the upper end of a lower boxlike concentrator frame having a. closed upper end and an open lower end, and supported by hangers 73 and wing nuts 7% upon blocks 75 secured to the upper longitudinal beams.

On each concentrator frame is secured an eye 76 through which passes one end of a chain 77 the other end of which passes through the eye of an eye bolt 78 which extends through a block 79, against which block abuts a spring 81 coiled around the eye bolt, said spring being compressed between said block 79 and a nut 82 screwed on the front end of the eye bolt.

The shaft 22 carries wiper cams which engage rollers 90 on shafts 83 extending transversely above the rear ends of the concentrator frames, their ends being secured in boxes 8% secured on said concentrator frames. Said wiper cams, by engaging said rollers, press said rollers in a direction to compress the springs 81, and, when the cams leave the rollers, said concentrator frames are drawn back by the expansion of said springs, so that their front ends impinge upon a transverse abutment 85 secured by bars 86 and 87 to front and rear posts 3. The bottoms of the concentrator frames slope downwardly to the rear, and said concentrator frames discharge at their lower ends by means of chutes 88.

In the modification of the invention shown in Fig. 8 instead of a wiper cam an ordinary cam 89 is used which rotates between two pairs of rollers 91. In this modification no spring is needed.

Upon the transverse shaft 16 is secured a pulley 92 around which travels a belt 93, which also travels around a pulley 9% on a transverse shaft 96 which carries pulleys 97 which are engaged by cross belts 98 which travel around pulleys 99 on shafts 101 mounted in the upper ends of the chutes 56. Said shafts 101 carry sprocket wheels 102 around which travel chains 103 attached to an endless conveyer 10% made of carpet or other material having a rough surface adapted to retain small pieces of gold or other heavy metal. Said chains also travel around sprocket wheels 105, 106, on shafts 108, 107, of which the shaft 108 is mounted in blocks 109 (see Fig. 9, only one block being shown), slidably in guideways 110 which are normally retracted by coiled springs 111, of each of which one end is secured to the block 109 and the other end to the frame of the machine. Said sprocket wheels 105, 106 are contained in a tank 112 at opposite ends thereof in which tank is a suflicient quantity of water or other cleansing liquid. Said chains also travel around idle wheels 113, 11 1, traveling over the chutes 56 between the wheels 1141- and 102 upward in the direction of the arrow.

In the modification of the invention shown in Fig. 11, jars are repeatedly imparted to said frame and endless concentrating belt by means of a hammer 115 secured on the end of a spring arm 116 pivotally mounted, as shown at 117, upon an end of the tank, through an extension 118 on which is screwed a screw 119 abutting against said end, said arm having on its free end a cam 120 adapted to be engaged by a wiper cam 121 on a transverse shaft 122.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 1216 inclusive, in the concentrator frame 75 are contained two lower metallic boxes 126, placed end to end, one box being open at both ends and the other box being open at the end adjacent to the other box, and extending transversely across said boxes are round bars 127, supported by sheet metal sleeves 128 surrounding the bars, and having flanges 129 secured to the bottoms of the boxes. Upon the bottoms of the boxes and fitting closely around the sleeves surrounding the bars is a piece 131 of carpet, held in place by means of a frame 132, comprising side pieces 133 connected by U-shaped bars 134. Each frame 132 is cut out, as shown at 136, to receive the sleeves 128, so that the lower parts of the bars 13 1 can be pressed down upon the carpet. Said frames have outwardly extending horizontal flanges 137, which rest upon flanges 138 of the boxes, and, extending across the top of the concentrator frame and with their ends resting upon said flanges 137, are strips 139 of metal, through which and the flanges extend bolts 1 11. The bars 134 serve the purpose not only of holding down the carpet, but also as riffles to catch particles of fine gold, this gold being principally caught, however, in the recesses 1 12 adjacent to the part of the carpet extending around the sleeves 128, the lighter particles of sand or gangue passing around and over said sleeves.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The ore is discharged on to the endless convcyer 104 and rolls down the same, its upper surface at the same time traveling upwardly. The lighter particles roll off the lower end of the belt, while the particles of gold or other heavy metals sink into the of gangue and heavy particles of gold and 20 belt and are carried upwardly therewith and discharged at the upper end thereof. The belt is continuously kept clean by being washed with the water of the tank. The remaining particles of ore are discharged into the upper screen frame. By the jarring motion given to this screen frame the particles of light and heavy material are separated, and by the upper and lower screens those of different sizes are also separated, the finest particles falling to the V-shaped bottom of the frame and being discharged into the lower concentrator frame. In this concentrator frame again the lighter and heavier particles are separated by the jarring motion imparted to the frame. By this means a complete separation is made between the light particles other precious metals.

I claim In apparatus for recovering gold, a boxlike frame open at one 'end, bars extending transversely across said frame, a sheet of fibrous material on the bottom of said frame and around said bars, a frame comprising two sheet metal side pieces and U-shaped bars secured to said side pieces and contacting with said sheet.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARLEY L. SHERWVOOD.

lVitnesses F. M. WRIGHT, D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

